Filed under: Gaming , iPad One of the best things about going to a convention like GDC is what we in the business call “doing research,” which you might know as “playing games.” We often get to check out the latest and greatest that developers are working on, and so when Tactile Entertainment offered us a chance to check out their upcoming Pocket Creatures title, we gladly took it. The company is founded by four friends... 

Filed under: Features , Troubleshooting , Ask TUAW Welcome back to Ask TUAW , our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we have questions about replacing a MacBook hard drive, refreshing a NFS mount, getting a simple clock on screen, improving iCal’s note handling, and more. As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking... 

Filed under: Gaming , Software I’ve been working like crazy for TUAW here at GDC 2010 (and there’s a lot more coverage yet to come), but I did take a little time for myself this afternoon and go see the demo that Firaxis is showing off here of this fall’s Civilization V . The latest and greatest Civ is quite different from the past iterations. As you can see in the above photo, the squares have become hexes for the first time... 

Filed under: Retail , Rumors , iPad Apple Store Sydney by Shaondiwakar – Flickr In the wake of yesterday’s iPad sales estimates of 50K in the first couple of hours (now revised by Silicon Alley Insider and Apple 2.0 to about 91,000 in the first six hours), we have an unconfirmed but plausible number from inside the retail stores. According to our source, the in-store pickup reservation count differential between the start of the... 

Filed under: iPad It seems that a lot of Apple-related events happen while I’m on cruise ships. Back in 1998, for example, I was aboard a cruise ship when I read the headline that Apple had decided to drop the Newton MessagePad . Before we went on this trip, I knew that Apple would start taking iPad pre-orders and reservations …  Read More →

Filed under: MobileMe Many folks were excited when Apple announced Back to My Mac as part of MobileMe . Being able to remotely access your Mac from anywhere sounded like magic. We’re used to products from Apple that “just work” but for most people most of the time, Back to My Mac “just doesn’t.” To maximize your chances, you’re supposed to use a supported router , but even that’s no guarantee.... 

Filed under: Retail , Apple , iPad According to MacDailyNews , shoppers who placed iPad pre-orders this morning are being told by Apple Store employees that demand could affect their plans for in-store pickup. It seems that several customers ordered iPads this morning, opting for at-home delivery. For whatever reason, they later changed their minds and opted for in-store pickup. That’s when things got tricky. When requesting the switch,... 

Filed under: Retail , Apple , iPad With iPad preorders finally available , at least for USians, I was relieved to place my order for an 16 GB iPad, due to be delivered on or after April 3rd. Along with a bluetooth keyboard (which I’ve been meaning to pick up for some time now), a case, and taxes, the whole kit & kaboodle came to about $650 for me. I declined AppleCare for the moment, and am…  Read More →

Filed under: Software , Internet Tools After a long absence iCalShare.com has relaunched with new search tools and an improved user interface. iCalShare is a site dedicated to sharing calendars for use in applications like iCal, Google Calendar, or Outlook among dozens of other web and desktop apps. The site contains over 3,500 calendars across 40 different categories from Academics to Television. Calendars are free to download and can be used... 

Filed under: iPad Is it too early to think about pre-ordering an iPad? The WSJ’s Smart Money website looks at the options for early adopters, and comes to the surprising and novel conclusion that it costs more to buy early . I’m not sure there’s a polite way to put this, so with all due respect to Smart Money, let me say: Well, of course. According to the writeup, waiting a few months before buying your iPad “could cut... 

Filed under: iPad During CES 2010, HP gave the public a slight tease of its upcoming slate device. The touchscreen device, which runs Windows 7 , sports a form factor similar to Apple’s iPad , as well as similar uses; it supports eBooks, music, videos, and of course, the Internet. But wait, there’s more. According to a post on HP’s Voodoo blog , the device will give you a “full Web browsing experience,” not a “watered-down... 

Filed under: Multimedia , Software , iPhone , App Store , Music Recently I’ve been preparing to move home and finally did last weekend. Naturally I had to pack up all my musical gear, equipment and of course, my Mac. In the week leading up to the move, I’ve had my iPhone and nothing else. With no creative outlet and the pressure of looming project deadlines, I found myself scouting the…  Read More →

Filed under: Gaming , Software , iPhone , App Store Tonight at GDC 2010 , I went out and stopped by the Capcom Fight Club party here in San Francisco, and while there, Capcom projected the actual App Store interface for sending their Street Fighter IV app to the App Store on various screens around the room. We actually got to see them press the button on the release live and in person, and sure enough, the game is in the App Store right now... 

Filed under: App Store , iPad The number of eBooks in the App Store has surpassed the number of games for the first time, and the spread is widening. Mobclix , a mobile device advertising agency, reports that as of last month, there were over 27,000 eBook apps while games were relegated to the runner-up position of 25,400 apps. Over the last reported month, new introductions of eBook apps …  Read More →

Filed under: Internet , Internet Tools Every year there is a torrent made to let listeners download most of the music for SXSW . This year’s torrent has recently been posted (previous years’ are also available at the same site). I don’t usually use Bittorent, so I asked around for client suggestions; Transmission seems to be a favorite among several of my TUAW colleagues. I also remembered a tip from my friend Guillermo Esteves...